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A total of 979 horses were taken into care during 2016, the figures add, which is a 55% increase on the previous year.

Equine inspector team leader, Cathy Hyde, said that despite the charity’s best efforts, the crisis is “not getting any better”.

More than 30,000 calls about horses were received at the RSPCA’s national call centre last year, added Ms Hyde, with the charity rescuing an average of almost three horses a day.

“For several years now we as a charity have been picking up the pieces of the equine crisis, with our inspectors being called out to sick, injured, neglected or cruelly treated horses every single day,” she said.

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“For many of the horses, being rescued is just the beginning of a long road to recovery, and it can take many months for us to rehabilitate them to a point where they can be re-homed.

A combination of issues have contributed to the crisis, adds the charity, including the impact of the recession, over-breeding, costs of vets’ bills and falling prices of horses.

Ms Hyde said: “The time and work during those months is absolutely essential but extremely costly, and we now find ourselves with more than 850 horses in our care, so we desperately need the public’s help.”